Shattered shrines: How Pakistan wiped out Hinglaj and Sharada Shakti Peethas to convert them into silent ruins

Shakti Peethas are places where parts of Sati’s body fell. The number of Shakti Peethas varies from text to text and over time, increased from four to 18, then to 51 and 108. In a text like Tantrachudamani, there is a reference to Hingula. In every such Shakti Peetha, Devi has a name and the associated Bhairava also has a name. In Hingula, Devi’s name is Kottari and Bhairava’s name is Bhimalochana. In Hingula, Devi’s Brahmarandhra fell. Brahmarandhra can loosely be translated as head, but it is much more than head. Though Tantrachudamani doesn’t mention it, there is also Sharada Shakti Peetha, where Devi’s right hand fell. Sharada was an ancient centre of learning. Both Hingula and Sharada are in Pakistan. Or were. Once upon a time, Bengali authors wrote travelogues about visiting _tirtha_s. They seem to have vanished now. Writers and readers are no longer interested. This may have something to do with patience. Who has the time to write and read long travelogues now? This is reminiscent of the decline of novels (as opposed to long stories) in Bengali literature. It also has to do with ease of access. Most _tirtha_s have become easier to visit. Earlier, a great deal of time and effort had to be expended to visit some _tirtha_s.  Think of Kailasa as an example. As _tirtha_s became more accessible, the romance associated with the journey declined. If I can visit a tirtha myself, why read about it second-hand? While all this is true, there continue to be travelogues about visiting _tirtha_s, though not in Bengali. Over time, the Bengali writer and reader have become less interested in dharma. Many of these books became great films. There was an author named Kalikananda Abadhut. Abadhut indicates he gave up life as a householder and turned to some variety of sannyasa and tantra, spending a large part of his life in Mahakaleshvara in Ujjain. Among his many books, the most famous was undoubtedly Marutirtha Hinglaj. Marutirtha means the tirtha in the desert and Hinglaj is the same as Hingula. Hinglaj is in Balochistan, on the banks of the Hingol River. It is a remote area, though infrastructure seems to have improved in recent times. But the Abadhut book was set in the 1940s, when one would have to trudge on foot across the desert, for a distance of some 200 kilometres. Few pilgrims made it. (Hinglaj is also associated with both Rama and Parashurama.) Many such travelogues became extremely successful films and Marutirtha Hinglaj was no exception. It was made into a film (in Bengali) in 1959, with a star-studded cast and music by Hemanta Mukherjee. What permeates the film is the overwhelming sense of bhakti among the pilgrims, as they cope with the difficulties of the journey. In our school (a residential school of the Ramakrishna Mission in Narendrapur), we were often shown films. Around 1966, not long after the film was released, we were shown Marutirtha Hinglaj and it left a deep impression on me.  Subsequently, I read the book. I have watched the film again, years later. But the production quality and the black and white print jars, despite the nostalgia. What doesn’t jar is the music and songs, even years later. Two songs in particular (both by Hemanta Mukherjee) were out of this world. Pather Klanti Bhule and Tomar Bhubane Mago. I suspect that even non-Bengalis will find these deeply moving. Often, one has to-do lists in life. “I must do this before I die.” On my to-do list, was the idea of visiting Hinglaj. One does try to tick the boxes in the to-do list and there are several _tirtha_s I have visited down the years. Hinglaj didn’t happen. Or I didn’t make any special efforts to make Hinglaj happen because it was in Pakistan and that would have been a bit of a nuisance. I wish I had thought differently. Pakistan has now destroyed the Shakti Peethas, and temples, of both Hinglaj and Sharada, the latter recognised by UNESCO. This is in line with Islam’s tradition, except that this hasn’t happened one thousand or five hundred years ago, but right now.  That doesn’t surprise me. What surprises me is that this news hasn’t received much more coverage. I mentioned two songs from the film. Tomar Bhubane Mago is a song whose lyrics should resonate. Let me try and translate parts as best as I can. “O mother! There is such a lot of sin in your world. Is there no counter to this curse? Today, falsehood triumphs and truth has lost its right. Where is Ayodhya and where is Rama? What has happened? Men have become animals. In the land of Savitri and Sita, show yourself and end these depredations. Doesn’t your firm hand wield a vajra? Please end this violence and save those who are helpless. I seek refuge in the tirtha of your feet, so that I can cross over this journey, which is so difficult to traverse.” Devi works in mysterious ways, not easy for human minds to fathom. But Devi’s vengeance is not to be trifled with. The author is the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Council and a well-known Sanskrit scholar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. 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